It's not December

Christmas decorations should not be in stores right now.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing leaves, the cool days and wearing scarves and sweaters. Everything turns pumpkin flavored, and it becomes socially acceptable to wear dark nail polish. 

Why do we try to rush through this season? I want to see seasonal decor during their appropriate season.

Halloween=October

Thanksgiving=November 

Christmas=December

Again, it's September. 

September does not equal Christmas. 

<end rant>

Happy Memorial Day

On this day we honor the men and women who have given their lives so that we may have the freedoms we enjoy in our country. My heart goes out to their families and friends on this day, their day, our Memorial  Day. 

A Trip to the Tulips

The weather held out and we were able to visit the Tulip Festival on Saturday. While there weren't blue skies, and it was a bit chilly... it didn't rain!

 

There are signs posted everywhere, "Do not step between rows." I'm a rebel, clearly.

I love when nice strangers offer to take our photo. :)

After the tulips, we got lunch and splurged on dessert. Look at this gigantic Cream Puff!!! Even the server didn't think we could finish it!

We proved him wrong.

Also, Happy Earth Day!!

Every day I try to make an effort to care for our planet. I always have my reusable grocery bags, I try and reduce my amount of waste, and I recycle, recycle, recyle! Did you know, the concept of Earth Day came from a Wisconsin Senator in 1970? Americans took to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. You don't see much of that now.  

If you're interested, check out the video below.

Happy Birthday, Noah!

February 14, 2009 

Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day to my special guy!

He doesn't know it yet, but I've got a special surprise for him and I can't wait for the fun reveal. :)

Tonight we will be having a lovely dinner at one of our favorite places, and splurging on some Coldstone ice cream sandwiches!!

And here... a very lovely poem:

 

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

A Disappointed Vegetarian

Valentine’s Day is just a fews week away, and time is of the essence if you want to get a nice table reserved.  Most places offer special menus, and while Noah and I were browsing through our options I began to feel a bit discouraged. Steak. Shrimp. Clams. Rack of Lamb. Meat, meat and more animal.

At the bottom of each menu… the outrageous flat-fee to match the lavish cuisine, and in small print:

NO SUBSTITUTIONS

Great. So I have to pay $60 for the atmosphere and a fennel salad? Has Valentine’s Day always been a meat-eaters holiday? Even the known-to-be-accommodating restaurants in Seattle aren’t offering vegetarian friendly options. What’s going on?!

What’s most frustrating is the ease it takes to accommodate a vegetarian diet. Offer a tofu dish. Take out the meat and add lentils or polenta. Make vegetarian lasagna for goodness sakes! From a smart business perspective - restaurants are losing business by excluding a whole population of eaters.

We ended up making reservations at a cute little tapas place we enjoy. Regardless of my (continued) frustrations of being a vegetarian, I am looking forward to spending Valentine’s Day with my birthday boy.

If you're curious as to why I am vegetarian... You can view that rant here.

Painting, Santa & Corey Smith

When a coworker asks "How was your weekend?" and you reply with "It was amazing!" .... The details and photos are worth sharing.

The fun started Thursday night when a friend and I went out for painting and wine. Conversations are always fun over wine and some creativity.

Our lovely artwork we entitled: "Desert Foliage

Friday night I attended a special banquet where Noah dressed up as... Santa! Watching him light up all those little eyes was amazing. While some of the kiddos were more shy, others were nearly running around senseless with excitement. Any guy who can put on the red suit to keep the holiday spirit alive... is pretty incredible.

Now, a backstory... 4 or so years ago... Noah wooed me with a particular song. I wrote about it HERE. Well, we found out Saturday night that Corey Smith would be playing IN SEATTLE the next night! We had to go!! So we did.

And... we got to meet him!

We had a great time, and it was cool to hear our song played live. *Insert "awww" moment here*

A Letter From Santa

Recently On my iPhone....

The holiday was amazing. There was sweat, laughter, lots of eating, and much to be thankful for.

If you're interested, here are some of the weekend in photos:

Our Holiday Cards are ordered!

All Our Love Holiday Card

To view our most popular holiday card designs, click here.

View the entire collection of cards.

I love Shutterfly. We've created and ordered our Holiday cards, as well as making a calendar for the new year. It's super easy, fun and make great gifts!

On this Thanksgiving... I am thankful for...

1)      First and foremost, my health. Over this past year I have grown so much from the physical activities of roller derby and crossfit. I am thankful that my body is strong enough to do the things I love to do.

2)      My Family. I am so thankful that I have a family (that continues to grow) whom I can rely on no matter what. My mother has always been my best friend, and my biggest supporter. I can’t imagine who I would be without her unconditional love and encouragement. I am blessed with two dads who offer their (solicited and unsolicited) ‘fatherly’ advice; they think the world of me.

Crossfit, Football, Food & Plenty of Thanks

As I have written about before (see here, here and here) Noah and I have gotten really into Crossfit. So into it, Noah participated in his first competition this past Saturday. Insert gross little moment here: I am so proud of him.

Okay, so moving on….

For Thanksgiving, both our fathers are coming to stay with us. This means that I will be cooking for three grown men. Yikes. But before we stuff our faces with deliciousness… the four of us are headed to the gym Thanksgiving morning to do what they call the ‘Cornucopia WOD’. This team workout is supposed to burn so many calories you can eat your Thanksgiving feast guilt free. I usually just put on stretchy pants and don’t give it a second thought…. But THIS year, we thought the family team would be fun! Let’s hope we can survive!

For our holiday meal, we are planning on having:

My Mom’s Famous* stuffing
My Mom’s Famous* scalloped potatoes
Cream Braised Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Cranberry Sauce – still deciding if I want to try to make my own. A part of me really likes my sauce shaped like a tin can
Pumpkin & Apple Pie
And of course, for the men…. Turkey. The bird is Noah’s gig.  :)

*My mother’s recipes aren’t globally known…but they make me nostalgic for my childhood. Lucky me, she sent me up to Washington with a book of her delicious handwritten recipes.

With the morning workout, football, the delicious food and so much to be thankful for…I am so very excited for Thursday!

A Vegetarian's Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday is just a few days away. Can you believe it? Noah and are hosting this year (more on that later) and I've been asked the question, "Will you be having a turkey?". The answer is yes. Just because I don't eat meat, doesn't mean meat isn't allowed.

NPR did a story on how vegetarians feel about the holiday, and I couldn't agree more:

"They don't feel like they're missing out. I spoke to Laura Anderson — she's the food and drinks editor at Slate, she's a vegetarian. She told me that, 'The essence of Thanksgiving is not in the turkey itself, it's in having ... a ton of dishes all together, way more food than you can eat, the promise of leftovers, a plate on which you have probably six or seven dishes all sharing room on the same plate.'"

Personally, I love gorging myself with a plate of stuffing, scalloped potatoes, veggies and cranberry sauce. Last year I made meat-free ribs.... but I felt it was a little unnecessary. Does there have to be a main dish?  I don't think so, but the NPR story introduced a vegetarian main dish: The Veggieducken. Looks a bit intimidating to me, but maybe I'll challenge myself with it next year.

If you are hosting this year and you know a vegetarian will be attending, I suggest following these simple rules of etiquette:

1) Don't assume your veggie friend will feel uncomfortable around the turkey centerpiece. We can handle it.
2) While it's always appreciated when meat eating friends want to make a "special" meatless dish, often it makes me uncomfortable.
3) And the most simple advice....Just ask them what they would prefer.

To read the full story, you can view it here.

Halloween Festivities

I am currently in a candy coma. Candy Corn, Fun Size Snickers, and Skittles were my diet yesterday. Oh dear...

For work I dressed in my High School cheer leading uniform (hooray for still being able to fit into it) and decorated myself with walking-death-bloody-zombie-makeup. So.Much.Fun.

After work, I quickly changed into a Superhero and went to decorate little faces with paint. Tiny witches, Batmen, and Lady Bugs were just too cute to handle. Not to mention how adorable we were as a Superhero family!

Take a look:

Don't be alarmed... Theo LOVED his costume.

Happy 1st Day of Fall

When people think of fall, they may think of the colorful changing leaves, warm sweaters, nostalgic flavored lattes and of course, pumpkins…. 

Normally, my head is filled with those glorious things as well. After all, fall is my favorite time of year. 

However, THIS fall… I am thinking, "This is my LAST year of grad school!!" as well as, "Please… let me get through this." 

So, I grab my mug filled with warm pumpkin flavored coffee and say to you….

"Cheers to fall, and the loss of my sanity." 

TOMORROW!!!!

WE WILL BE IN SAN FRANCISCO!!!

My suitcase is packed, and I have all my liquids in a baggy! I am ready to go!! 

We are ready for a little vacation. Perfect getaway before the (what can be very) hectic holiday. 

Spoiled

Someday… : ) 

11.11.11

Happy Veterans Day

I give thanks to all the men and women who have, continue, and have fallen while serving our country. Dad, Tina, Tam and Reggie… I am so blessed to have you.  

                                                                                           

Army

Airforce

Navy

Thank You. 

Super Suck Sunday

SUPER

• People remembering my name at my Practicum. I am only there once a week and it's a HUGE office. Having someone remember my name is a pretty big deal! 
• I had my 5th Roller Derby practice today and I am still loving it! I have decided to keep it up and hope to join a team by January! 
• Due to a recent post, my mother told me what I will be unwrapping this Christmas! Oh so excited! So many recipes to try out!! 
• Tomorrow is Halloween!! We half celebrated last night with spooky cocktails, a little dress up and a Halloween inspired burlesque show. Tomorrow I will be helping out with trick-or-treaters and get to face paint for the little ones. That will be a blast! 

That's an eyeball in my drink. Eeek! 

Get it? Tooth…. Fairy!! 

I even had fairy dust in my poach. 

 

SUCKS

• We took Theo to the vet and he's got a virus. *sad face* He's on a weeks worth of medications. Pretty sucky. 
• Going to the grocery store to get all the fixins to spend the night baking…and forgetting eggs, foil and pumpkin. Disaster. Oh, and running out of cupcake liners. 
• Getting a hole in your brand new socks. That sucks, right? They're BRAND FRICKIN' NEW!
• Not being prepared for Seattle rain. I guess it's that time of the year to wear a jacket equipped with a hood and carry an umbrella. On the bright side, what's the likelihood of finding your umbrella twin in a busy city?